Mail-bag holder and deliverer.



PATENTED FEB. 19, 1907. H. G. KIIMPLIE &'E. EILER. MAIL BAG HOLDER AND DBLIVBRER.

No. 844,365. I

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1.1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAIL-BAG HOLDER AND DELIVERER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 19, 1907.

Application filed June 1,1906. Serial No. 319,765.

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, HARRY GLEN. KIM- PLE and EDWARD EILER, citizens of the United States, residing at Dicksonburg, in the county of Crawford and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Holder and Deliver-er; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in mail-cranes, and more particularly to that class adapted to be placed at the side ofa railway-track to hold the mail in position to be engaged from the train.

The object of our invention is to provide means for yieldingly supporting the bag on the arms of the crane, whereby when the bag is engaged the parts of the device holding said bag may be disposed at an angle to the supporting-arms.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter referred to, and more particularly point ed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this application, Figure 1 is a detail View of one arm of a mail-crane, showing our improved holding device attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a mail-crane showing the mail-bag suspended thereon; and Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view as seen from line 3 3, Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, in which simila reference-numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates a post, to the upper end of which is pivotally secured an arm 2, said arm being held in position upon the post by means of plates 3, said plates being secured to the post and have their upper ends curved to dispose the pivot-point 4 of the arm 2 to one side of the center of the post, whereby when said arm is disposed in a vertical position a portion thereof will engage one side of the post.

An auxiliary arm 5 is secured to the post 1 by means of links 6, said auxiliary arm extending from one side of the post and at a distance below the arm 2. ,Secured to the ends of the arms 2 and 5 are bag-engaging fingers 7, said fingers being pivotally secured to their respective arm by means of bolts 8, disposed through suitable bearing-sockets 9 in said arms, the free end of said bolts being threaded to receive nuts 10, said nuts being permanently secured on the bolts by means of cotter-pins or the like 11. The fingers 7 are preferably formed integral with the bolts 8 and are provided on their inner ends with hooked terminals 12, to which are secured one end of a tension-spring 13, the opposite ends of said springs being secured to eyebolts 14, said eyebolts being disposed through the lower end of retaining-bolts 15, the eyebolts being threaded throughout their lengths and provided wit-h adjusting-nuts 16, the bolts 15 being directed through their respective arm and held in position thereon by means of nuts 17.

The outer ends of the engaging fingers 7 are adapted to receive the rings 18 of the mail-bag 19, and said rings are held in position upon the fingers 7 by means of springcatches 20, saidcatches being secured at their inner ends to collars 21, and the collars are in turn adjustably secured upon the fingers by means of set-screws 22.

By this construction it will be seen that when the mail-bag is engaged by the receiving-arm on the train that the fingers 7 will pivot upon their respective bolts 8 and dispose the outer ends of the fingers in the direction in which the train is traveling, thereby enabling the rings 18 to be pulled from off the fingers in a straight line, and as soon as the rings have been slipped from under the spring-catches 20 the tension-springs 12 will immediately restore said fingers parallel with their respective supporting-arms, and at the same time the arm 2 will swing into a vertical position along one side of the post, while the auxiliary arm 5 will drop down parallel with the post, and thereby disposing both of the arms away from the track and out of th path of the train.

What we claim is 1. The combination of a post having arms pivotally secured thereto and a distance apart, of fingers, bolts integral with said fingers and extending through said arms, springcatches on one end of said fingers, means to adjustably secure said catches to the fingers, tension-springs secured to the opposite end of said fingers, bolts extending through said arms and means to adjustably secure said tension-springs to the bolts.

2. The combinationof a post having arms pivotally secured thereto, of fingers, bolts integral With said fingers and extending through said arms, spring-catches at one end of said fingers, means to adjustably secure said catches to the fingers, hook-terminals at the opposite ends of said fingers, tensionsprings secured to said terminals, retainingbolts disposed through said arms, eyebolts secured to said tension-springs and extending through the retainin '-bolts and means to adjust the tension of sai springs.

3. The herein-described attachment for the arms of a crane comprising bolts, fingers secured to said bolts, spring-catches on said fingers, collars surrounding said fingers and spring-catches, means to secure said collars to the fingers, hook-terminals at the opposite ends of said fingers, springs having one of their ends secured to said hook-terminals,

retaining-bolts and eyebolts secured to said ipiiings and disposed through said retaining- In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.-

HARRY GLEN. KIMPLE. EDWARD EILER. Witnesses:

IRA FETTERMAN, JOHN R. HILLs. 

